~ Not So Regular Views – From a Regular Guy!

Monthly Archives: January 2013

“Senators Unveil Immigration Proposal” – That was the headline that captured a lot of attention, and one very interesting way to kick-off the next four years of President Obama’s second term. What was noticeable about the announcement was that it was a bi-partisan announcement. They even had Hispanic Senators from both parties present and engaged in the discussion. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said that “reforming the U.S. immigration system to provide a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants is crucial to national security and keeping the economy strong.”

The Republican counterpart, Marco Rubio (R-FL), was also there to tout this new proposal as true reform. It may very well be – except that as in every aspect of politics, there are some who support the reform and others who oppose it. I would like to take a look at both sides of the discussion and approach it from a Hispanic’s perspective if I may.

For starters, I don’t really like any immigration reform that purports to reward the breaking of our laws under the guise of “fairness” or supposedly “making things right” for everyone. I am fairly certain that if I were to enter China illegally, and they found out I were there illegally, that there would likely be hell to pay. In fact, most countries – including the majority of those whom many U.S. “immigrants” used to call home – have tremendous disdain for anyone who would disrespect their laws. Why is it that we as American Citizens are asked to look the other way on the breaking of our immigration laws? And why should we so readily acquiesce? I think not.

I don’t begrudge anyone their desire for a better life or to go and seek better opportunities for themselves and their families; my family certainly did, but they did so within the legal confines of our immigration system. I remember growing up and being the kid in school who was always getting pushed back in line because the bigger bullies were always taking cuts. Well, that eventually stopped when I finally realized that I could be just as big and tough, and I stood up to them. Well, now we have people who would love nothing more than to take cuts, however, the immigration reform being proposed won’t necessarily allow that, which to me is a good thing.

The next cause and effect I’d like to address is that of the entitlement mentality that is prevalent among my fellow Hispanics. I’m not shying away from this topic, and neither should anyone else who wants to be honest and completely candid about it. The day after the immigration reform was announced, and the requirements to be eligible were made public, a swift and vocal opposition was made by other Hispanics – so-called “representatives” of those who “can’t speak for themselves” in this “oppressive” country – and they said simply, “why should there be taxes to pay and fines? And why should these people who’ve been here for years be sent to the back of the line to wait perhaps for another 15 years? This is not fair!”

When I hear statements like that, it makes me truly worry about what people believe is right vs. wrong. If anyone that wants to come to the U.S. legally goes through the normal immigration process, they know it takes time. The people who have been living in this country for more than 10 years, not paying taxes (at least not under their own names), some have purchased homes, others drive nice vehicles – yet, if they had taken the necessary steps to apply for citizenship properly, they might already be U.S. citizens by now – or very close to it. Now, I understand that not everyone who has come to the U.S. has been able to make such a great living. In fact, there are those who have been victimized and abused, but again this is as a consequence of NOT following our immigration rules.

The people who struggle and feel they have to “hide” and live in the shadows is because THEY have chosen to come to this country illegally and live they way they do. What most bothers me about some of the people who complain about the U.S. immigration policies is they they themselves don’t practice what they preach. In Mexico, their southern border with Guatemala is the most dangerous crossing any Central American immigrant can make. There’s not only the normal fear of being captured, but also the dangers of the bandits and thugs, and the uniformed police or soldiers always on the prowl for bribe money. Mexico is very strict with those who would dare attempt to cross its Southern border heading north into Mexico, yet it complains about the U.S. border policies.

I won’t sit here and preach to anyone, but I will say this: coming to this country illegally living here for years without properly paying your fair share of taxes, and then complaining about a chance at proper immigration because there are fees and penalties to pay – and a waiting period – will NOT garner any support nor any sympathy from me and any Hispanic or non-Hispanic individuals or groups who consider themselves true Americans and who happen to believe in a real sense of fair play. America is a great country, and a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. We must remember, though, that nothing good in life comes easy – and certainly nothing as great as America.

As taxpayers, we are entitled to a certain amount of transparency by our elected officials, are we not? During the Hillary Clinton testimony before Congress on the deaths in Benghazi, Ms. Clinton forcefully defended how she handled the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi. Additionally, she denied any effort was made to mislead the American people. These assertions were made by the Secretary of State after the comments made by Susan Rice, and after the inexcusable deaths of four Americans – who had asked for help but failed to receive it.

Ms. Clinton got so angry while defending herself, in fact, she blurted out, “”Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?” That is not a comforting statement from someone who should have been in charge of the situation.

While Ms. Clinton did state that “it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from happening again,” the question of the day – at least from my perspective is: How could this have happened in the first place?!

The problems with these types of Congressional hearings is that they seldom yield new information, and in particular from an administration that although promised to be “the most transparent administration” ever has actually turned out to be exactly the opposite. Fast & Furious comes to mind, and the “executive order” that prevents Eric Holder from being questioned on the matter. Again, more death, and less transparency.

In a very precise way of saying things, Ms. Clinton echoed the new mantra for those in power who wish to have their cake and eat it too – she took responsibility, but not the blame. Odd, isn’t it, that whenever the previous administration’s wrongdoings are brought up – and there were plenty of them – there never seems to be any problem whatsoever identifying who is to blame. The current administration, however, is loathe to admit certain things, let alone accept blame for anything.

Now, rightfully or not, Ms. Clinton stated that the buck stopped with her – despite the fact that in our country we’ve always believed that the buck stops with the President. Isn’t that why President Nixon resigned? He didn’t physically break into the Watergate offices, but he ended up taking the full responsibility along with the blame – and more importantly – the full consequences. Ah yes, consequences, something that today’s politicians just don’t want to have anything to do with.

You know what is distasteful in all of this? Four low level officials were put on administrative leave while the Secretary of State and the President face no other questions. Ok, so Benghazi, realistically speaking, was no 9/11 despite sharing the same date with it. Yes, a lot fewer deaths – except for one thing: the deaths in Benghazi were preventable. Why didn’t someone do SOMETHING?

The saddest part of this entire idiocy is that Ms. Clinton will be leaving office with her popularity at sky-high levels, simply because as other articles have pointed out, Ms. Clinton has mastered the art of damage control. Couple that with the fact that the majority of Ms. Clinton’s old colleagues in the senate went easy on her and were actually reluctant to press her and her subordinates on their shameful, yet obvious negligence.

The only part of this entire ordeal that I really couldn’t get behind the Republicans with was the insinuation that Ms. Clinton had somehow staged or faked her concussion in order to get out of testifying while the issue was hot. Sure, the timing worked well for her – things did cool down. I don’t believe, however, that even Hillary Rodham Clinton would stoop that low, but in that same vein that I look to her to be a somewhat decent individual, I’d like her to accept personal responsibility and most of the blame – because I’m absolutely certain that the President will not.

When we speak about sad commentaries on our modern society, this will definitely come up as one of them. We can only hope that as our country moves forward, there will be less and less of this nonsense instead of more.